Cases and containers for storing and transporting items are available in a wide variety of types and styles, and many cases and containers have been provided for storing and transporting items of a particular type and character. For example, tackle boxes have been known and used to store and transport fishing gear such as artificial lures, hooks, sinkers, and the like. Cases and containers may be non-specific in design, with the intention that they be usable with a variety of items of various sizes and shapes, or may be very specific in design to accommodate only items of particular configurations. In another design approach, as is typically used with fishing tackle boxes, the interior of the container or case is divided into non-specific compartments, so that items may be divided into the various compartments to achieve at least some internal organization. In all of these approaches, however, when the contents of the container are to be changed it is still necessary to handle individual items to move them from or to the container. Further, these types of container design approaches address storage of items only when they are placed within the container itself, and do not provide an easy means of transfer between container and fixed storage location.
Attempts have been made to address the noted disadvantages and problems, and several approaches are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,055 to Dingman discloses a display book or packet for a wallet or similar article, which can be used to retain certain flat items in transparent pockets flat can be removably connected in a wallet enclosure. However, the pockets disclosed by Dingman are suitable for holding only flat items with limited dimensional variation, and the system of attachment makes insertion and removal of the pockets rather cumbersome.
Another approach is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,508 to Thompson, which discloses a system of rigid boards, each with attached item holders, removably retained on a base by a series of pegs. While the Thompson approach is useful for readily removing and replacing boards, each board includes a number of item holders, and no provision is made to facilitate removal of only a single item holder without removing the board on which it is mounted. Further, the system of retaining boards on the base does not provide sufficiently secure retention to maintain the connection between boards and base during rough handling of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,293 to Levine et at. illustrates a fishing accessory container having a plurality of flexible removable inserts removably retained in a bag enclosure by zippers. Each of the inserts includes a plurality of individual compartments to hold various fishing accessories. As with the approach illustrated by the Thompson patent, individual item containers are not separately removable, but are grouped on the various inserts. It is therefore not possible to remove and replace a single item container.
There remains a need for a storage container with a multiplicity of item holders that may be individually removed from or connected to the container. There further remains a need for a storage container with a multiplicity of item holders that are easily and individually accessible without the need to remove the holder from the container.